The Septenary
by Oreh Keats
Summary: What are you willing to do for what you want most? Seven strangers from different walks of life are about to answer that question. They are brought together by one man to do three dangerous tasks which will risk their lives and freedom. All for the promise of what they most desire. SYOC
1. Mercury

_What would you do if you could have what you most desired?_ _Come to 354 Emerald Street if you wish to have what you want most._

 _Yves Conault_

The wet streets of Paris glistened from the night lights of the street lamps. The rain had died only an hour ago, but the smell of damp dust entrenched into the nostrils of Jude Mercury, the receiver of the note. Across the street from her was the address left for her, it was large like a museum. She been performing street magic in Rue Claudel, a secret street to Muggles that was a splendour with magic. At the end of her card show performance Jude counted her earnings to find the folded-up note in her hat. The offer of her heart was tempting, but Jude was no fool, what she wanted could not be earned with ease, and it was a thing that could lure Jude to her enemies. To help make up her mind Jude travelled the shops of the street asking if anyone knew a Yves Conault, but nothing came to fruit until she went to the Griffon Buveur, a place far cleaner and sophisticated than the Leaky Cauldron. Yves Conault was, to the word of the bartender, a reclusive academic of noble blood.

She tapped the letter against her hand as she leaned against the streetlamp. _Perhaps noble blood, meant political connections, but why offer me help?_ Jude thought _. What could he want from me?_

Those questions plagued her swaying in her mind against his offer. Not knowing the situation left the odds at fifty-fifty. From Jude's experience when you had those odds, the decider should always be laid towards desire. _Would I live if I was wrong or could I live with never trying at all?_

She stepped on to the street towards the massive building as her boots made wet scratches against the ground. Jude looked up and down the road for any signs of a trap, but instead, she couldn't only see cars and people under umbrellas. As she neared the shelter of the building, she pulled out her wand. If this Yves was a bookworm, then he'd not be a quick draw, but he'd know things that Jude had never thought of before. She dried herself with a twitch of her wand and walked up to the front door, a large wooden door polished with varnish with metal notches around the border. She knocked on the door, but after a moment no one answered, she grabbed the knob to see if it was unlocked and felt herself get ripped out of the space into a long narrow hallway. Jude fell face first on to a burgundy rug that spanned from the door to a spiral staircase. The corridor itself was an entry carved from polished white marble that reflected off the burning torches that lined the room. The sight would remind one of the entrances to a tomb or a temple. The door knob slipped from her grasp bouncing with sharp thuds a few feet from her. She looked up seeing it begin to twitch back to the museum door, Jude scrambled to her feet trying to grab it before it left.

"No," Jude yelled before diving towards the knob, but the thing popped away as she landed. The pain of the impact knocked the wind out of Jude, but she jumped to her feet pulling out her wand.

"This is not good," Jude said as she walked back towards the single door, hoping it to be an exit.

Seemed she'd made the wrong bet, the simplicity of it this trap is what got her. She'd been too focused on the complexities to see what was in front of her, by what was behind the door, not the door itself. When she reached the door, Jude looked down to check, but there didn't seem to be any magic to it. She looked up to see an older man with salt and pepper hair with olive skin a few feet in front of her. She jumped against the wall from the shock but point her wand at him, and he stood with his arms resting by his side with a kind smile.

"Pardon Madam for the ... suddenness of your entry. Can't have too many people knowing where I work. Scholars can be more ruthless and unethical than any mad murderer."

The calm, casual demeanour of this Frenchman was disturbing him, but somehow his checkered sweater vest and turtleneck was troubling her even more. "Are you supposed to be Yves?"

"Oui and pardon me for not introducing myself. I'm not accustomed to the gesture."

Jude's eyes twitched around the room and to the supposed Yves, he was too far away from the stairs and too calm to have run. He apparated, but he didn't seem to have a wand in his hand, which meant he was either a very wizard or used apparition all the time. This was a possible option due to his large stomach that almost seemed fake due to the rest of him being quite slim. This man fit the bill of a reclusive scholar, but there were still so many questions unanswered.

"You said you could help me."

"Yes."

"Prove it."

"The only way I can prove it is to make it happened and I cannot do as such till you finish the job."

The furrow in her brow softened, the idea that the offer for her heart's desire was not a trick, but instead the proposal for a job lowered Jude's guard. This was a reasonable exchange but did it have the breath of realism? Jude lowered her wand but stayed where she was.

"How else can I be assured of the offer?"

His eyes fluttered with bewilderment. "You're not going to ask what the job is?"

She gave a short laugh. "My skills don't equate to academia. They can be applied to entertainment or crime, and I don't think you're hiring me for a children's party."

Now it was Yves time to laugh as he scratched his beard in contemplation, he pulled out his wand. "Accio."

A whirling wisp echoed down the stairwell until a beige coloured blur flew into Yves' hand. "Here is part one of your reward — something I can prove," He said before levitating it to Jude. She grabbed it out of the air and opened it. Her smile of disbelief died when she saw a bank transcript for a transfer of 2000 galleons to her account.

"I've already sent it. Consider it a bet on my confidence."

"That you'd convince me?"

"Non, that you'd convince me. But we've not finished the interview yet," Yves explained before holding out his hand. "Nor am I done with gifts. I'll take you to the next stage."

Jude looked down at the door handle, it seemed to her that regardless she was going to get paid and whatever work he was offering could make her life better worse. Another fifty-fifty situation.

"You are, of course, allowed to leave. You can touch that doorknob and end up in the bathroom door of a park in Paris. But Madame you are more than a street performer, and I believe you know that as well."

Jude took her hat and rubbed her head desperate for comfort. Stay safe or take a risk? How much worse could her situation become. "I can leave whenever I want, with the money?"

"Oui."

She walked over to him with her hand outstretched but stopped just before their hands touched. He looked at her confused, but she had a dangerous edge to her eyes. "If you are lying. I will turn you into a teacup and shatter you against the wall," she said before taking his hand. He didn't seem to react to her words other than dropping his smile and the blink of an eye and soft scream of air. They were in a large opiate room made of the same marble as the hallway, but this room was like a half sphere without a single door except one that was in the middle of the ceiling. In the centre of the chamber were seven pillars, with each pillar holding a distinct item.

"This is the second stage. You must pick one of these objects, things I've collected in my studies."

"Why?"

"So, I can get a sense of you and because I must."

"Like that's not ambiguous," Jude said before she walked up to the first pillar on the left.

On it sat a pile of burning coal that soothed and warmed Jude even from this distance, it felt different from the Eternal Flames she had encountered before more authentic, though the authenticity of such things had never entered her mind before. The idea made her shiver and step away and she didn't spot as stepped into the pale blue glow of an ice shard. The piece was long and angular like the tooth of a dragon, she could almost hear it chill the air around it, she felt comfortable in its presence - calm even. She would have stayed there if it wasn't for a faint humming sound, it cut through her zen and she found herself walking towards it, she felt her hands become desperate to touch it.

"Once you touch an object that's it, it is yours."

"Is that a warning?"

"Advice. You haven't checked everything."

 _Advice my butt didn't say a word about the other two. He doesn't want me to pick it, which his either because it is the thing I should choose or shouldn't pick at all,_ Jude thought.

She sucked her teeth before walking away from the crown to a basic boring pile of ash. She stared at it waiting for something impressive to happen, like for it to turn into a little twister or maybe a phoenix would pop out. The idea reminded Jude of a major even at Marsay's Traveling Tent, they had the exact type of pile on the ground, it was sold already around the state that a one in a lifetime event would occur. Jude had to trade not only money but her transfiguration trick for changing her cards to get inside. However, little did the guy know was that you had to be able to do wandless magic. The deception was worth it, watching a phoenix become reborn is a spectacularly quick thing, like a shooting star.

Jude waited for something spectacular like that to happen to the ash on the pillar, but nothing did. So, she decided to move on to the next item, a black wand that was smooth and shaped like a stretched-out water droplet. The wood was polished, so Jude couldn't tell what type, wood it was, but regardless she wasn't interested and waited a second before moving on.

"Why so quick?" Yves asked.

Jude touched the wand in her pocket, a Redwood with the feather of a Phoenix. When she first picked it up before going to Hogwarts, she'd turned Mr Ollivander's inkblot into a smooth black as in fedora with the bright blue quill sticking out of the side. She had feared that he'd become upset and take the wand off of her, but instead, he stuck the hat on her head.

"I've seen a lot of things happen when a pair meet, but I've never seen a wand make a gift for their owner before. Be kind to it or else the hat might change back while you're wearing it."

The memory caused her to reach up to the wide flat brim of that very same hat on her head. Jude did have to grow into it, but this hat has always held great importance to her, it was her magic hat.

Jude gave a shrug. "I don't need it."

Next up was a diamond the size of a man's fist, Jude wasn't a diamond girl, but due to its size, it almost seemed to attract the light of the room towards it, with little rays of light cutting through it. She could get a ton of money for it, but that wasn't the job, and she'd learnt the hard way that things weren't always what they seemed. Jude stepped up to the last pillar.

 _There is no way it is just empty space must be something made invisible with a spell_ , she thought.

Jude knew she couldn't reach out to check because touching it would be claiming, so she leaned down and blew air. Her logic being if there was something there, she would get blowback, but she got nothing. She blew her lips in disappointment before stepping back to see all of the options.

"Well, obviously not I'm picking that last one."

"Then what do you choose?"

Jude appeared to sway, as her eyes danced between the cold blue ice shard that she could feel from here or the crown, that seemed to hum as if it were a magnet. Jude began to hum with laughter, she was reminded of the draw she'd felt when she'd gambled the feelings overwhelming her logic. She began to shake her head as the humour left her face.

"This is a trick. Tempting me," Jude looked over at the man. "Not going to work, but I'm still not going to go away without something, so I pick the ash."

"Are you sure? Coal is just as bland as ash?"

"Don't go asking me that. Of course, I'm not sure, but when you start playing not to lose, then you lose." She walked up to the plate of ash. "I'm not getting any bad feelings from this," she said before putting her hand on the pile. The room became silent as she waited for something to happen, Jude had thought made the ash would do something if she'd picked it or Yves would tell her that she'd made the wrong choice, but nothing happened from the ash or from Yves. She turned to look at him for some answers, but the squishy cheeked frog was gone. A sudden clap from behind her caused Jude to jerk from surprise and shower the ashes in the air over herself and Yves.

"Merlin's pants, Yves. Can you cut it out with the apparition?" Jude yelled. "Are you too lazy to walk in front of me?"

"Non, Madame Mercury, I find it too boring to walk, accio stone jar," Yves said and a thing shot out from the door on the ceiling right into his hand. He began to whirl his wand in a circle above his head causing the ash to levitate of the ground, Yves and Jude almost becoming a cyclone before sending it all into the jar. Yves pressed the lid on to it with the line being unclear becoming a cylinder. "You've made a marvellous choice Madame Mercury, though I must admit not the one I'd thought you'd make," he said with an amused tone before holding out the cylinder. Jude frowned not liking his smile, it was like a competitor at a casino, smiling when they knew they had an advantage.

She grabbed the cylinder out of his hand. "I aim to be unpredictable, so have I passed your little test."

He snapped his fingers, and a staircase began to pull out of the wall into a spiral that led to the open door of the ceiling.

"Oui, now please go up those stairs to my study where your colleague waits."

"How many people are in on this job?"

"Time will tell, but for now it is just deux."

 _She looked over at the other items. Guess that means someone else is going to get what I wanted,_ Jude thought. _Got to follow through though._ She tucked the cylinder into her bag before going up the stairs, the clicking of her boots echoed through the room. She looked over her shoulder to look at Yves, but he was already gone, no doubt giving the same introduction to the next candidate.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it, be sure to follow, favourite or review**.


	2. The Quick Draw of Three

Jude stepped up into the room, a room epic in size where the ceiling seemed endless in shadow, with ledges around each level with no stairs connecting them. Each side appeared to be a bookcase with books in countless colours; shapes; sizes; languages and genres. _They weren't kidding, he really is a bookworm_ , Jude thought. She started to feel pressure in her mind, like fingers trying to comb her brain but after a moment they stopped.

"You might want to shut that door. You're letting all the warm air out," A man said, his voice was light like he was smiling. He had an accent to him as well, but she couldn't place it.

Jude looked around herself for the source. On the floor level, there was leather furniture from two couches to chairs all angled towards the fireplaces that left the room with a steady glow, but she still couldn't see the man; until a pure white light shined from the third level of the library like a star. The man had olive skin, hair the colour of oil with eyes the same shade but had a playful spark living in them. The rest of his outfit appeared to be black too from his boots to his jeans and leather jacket, except for the white kafiya around his neck.

He didn't say another word, but his eyes did flick towards the door on the floor. Jude kicked it shut and the torches in the room, she hadn't noticed, ignited and illuminated the room. The man extinguished his wand before he put the book in his hand away. "I didn't know how long I'd be waiting, so I decided to do some light reading. I'm Amen."

He tapped his wand against his head turning into a black hawk and diving towards the ground, he looked like he was about to crash but lifted up just a fraction before changing back into his natural form and landing on his feet. He looked up at her with a wide grin expectantly, but Jude instead just walked over to one of the leather chairs and sat down. The man opened his mouth to speak but shut it and frowned, then he climbed on to the lounge sitting close to Jude.

"You're not going to ask or even look amazed?"

"You're an Animagus; not a unicorn."

His jaw dropped, "You've seen a unicorn?"

She didn't say a word as her eyes fluttered, shocked by his childlike enthusiasm. "... Yes."

"Where did you see it? Seeing a unicorn is on my list."

She couldn't believe his attitude; his enthusiasm, it was just baffling to Jude because she was a stranger and he didn't even know her name. She started to feel that same strange pressure in her mind again, but it was stronger than before and reminded Jude of her training. In one swift move, she stuck her wand under his chin, applying painful pressure that caused him to lift his head up.

"I encourage you to stop trying to poke into my head," Jude warned. "I'm a well-trained occumen, but that doesn't mean it doesn't feel like a spoon is cutting into my skull when people try."

"I'm sorry. Its been a lifelong habit. When people don't answer me, I can't help but listen in with my inner ear."

"You weren't listening, you were prying. If we are going to working together, I'm not going to put up with that."

"Sounds fair to me," Amen said with a grin, though he did have a cautious look in his eyes. Jude could see that he knew she wasn't one to bluff, but he also seemed like the rebellious type.

She put her hand back in her pocket and leaned back into the chair. Jude appeared to relax as if she hadn't just had his life in her hands a second ago, but on the inside, she watched him in her peripheral vision waiting just in case this Amen had the spiteful nature of a child as well. If he made any sudden moves didn't need a wand to ignite his scarf.

Instead, he just rubbed his chin and leaned back into the lounge. "Well, can you please just tell me where you saw the unicorn?"

The last and first time she'd ever seen a unicorn had been when she was younger, a fourth year at Hogwarts. On a winters day, a group of Redcaps had escaped in the middle of a class into the Forbidden Forest. Jude and five of the best kids in the class were picked to help Hagrid capture them. Hagrid said he wouldn't usually allow kids into the forest, but the Redcaps would upset the ecology of the creatures in the wood, and the more people to catch them; the less time they'd be in there running amuck. Jude was paired up with a boy she couldn't remember from Slytherin, and the two had managed to capture three Redcaps. All she remembered was the soft lighting of the twilight in the woods as they trekked back to the hut and like a gust of wind something large and whiter than the winter wood around it began to run in front of them. Time seemed to slow down as it galloped across from them, its bone blonde hair danced against the wind that smelt of winter; crisp and clean. The unicorn itself was like a holy ghost against the snow-covered forest, which looked grey in comparison. The only speck of colour was the gold of its hooves that were almost soundless except for the small crunch of snow. Jude had no idea at the time that the sighting was the first omen.

"I'm really trying not to be nosy, but you're making it difficult," Amen said, cutting into Jude's memory.

"Hogwarts."

"Oh ... that's too bad."

"Why is that? Hogwarts isn't as closed off as other schools. You could put in a request to visit. Hagrid would love to help."

Amen smiled with disappointment as her knitted his fingers together, "I'm kind of not allowed in England. They have restrictions and rules that don't exist to me, but they were only slight, so I was only deported."

Jude retreated into herself. _So this man wasn't allowed in England_ , she thought. _That's too much of a coincidence_.

Amen seemed to pick up on her behaviour as he sat forward again. "What you have a problem with that?"

"I have a problem with what that means."

Amen started to chew his lip as he waited for Jude to elaborate but she didn't think to and was too occupied with the situation she has put herself into. "Can you please explain?"

"Could but won't. Consider it a lesson of humility."

"Humility? I was born with this gift."

"Now you have to earn the gift of my trust."

Amen shook his head at Jude before he with a dramatic air smacked his hands on his legs and got up. He left Jude's field of sight, but she followed him with her ear. She wasn't the type to be so guarded, but Jude hadn't said a word to him before he tried to open up her mind and shortcut a conversation. Amen had even tried to share with her his past with the law; to get her to open up. A shallow tactic that showed Jude he assumed she was a criminal, which he apparently was himself. Not a murderer, but Jude had no doubts he'd lifted with his inner ear in the wrong places.

"Can I at least know which one you picked?"

"The ash."

"The ash? Weird choice but then again you're pretty weird."

"Thank you."

Amen faced contorted into confused amusement before he shook his head and walked up to Jude pulling something out of his pocket. "Guess which one I picked?"

"Let me guess the podium with nothing on it?"

He froze for a moment stunned by her answer before he pursed his lips. "You are not wrong, but I can see how it would have been difficult to answer. I didn't pick it, but this was on it."

Amen pulled out a glass bottle frosted white with age, but sharp thin specs of electric blue appeared and disappeared. Jude leaned forward with a tense brow but curious eyes. "Is that ..."

"Lightening in a bottle? Why yes, yes it is," Amen said before he, in one swift moment, sat on the opposite lounge as before. He pressed himself into the right arm the leather of her jacket rumpling against the leather of the lounge. He held the bottle in the tips of his fingers, watching the lightning dance with a satisfied grin. "-I'd almost picked the diamond, but diamonds are common compared to lightning in a bottle."

He pulled his eyes away from it and looked at Jude the playful light in his eyes again. "Jealous?"

Jude cracked a smile, she was a bit jealous only because the choice she'd made was in comparison quiet boring. "Terribly."

The floor door snapped open cutting their conversation short and the torches, much to Jude's pleasure. She couldn't help but note the speed of this latest addition. This left Jude to assume that they either had low standards or they were desperate for their heart's desire. The click of the spikes of heels echoed up through the door, they were steady and firm, as Amen and Jude sat with silent interest until a black-haired woman in her thirties climbed into view. Her appearance suggested a level of professionalism, in the tailor-made fit of her white blouse that was tucked into her black trousers the same ink blackness as the locket on her chest. Jude could only tell the colour of the woman's eyes as they appeared to widen with molten anger within the mud brown of her eyes.

"You," she said, her voice sharp like a fired arrow.

Jude feared for a moment she was talking to her, but Amen jumped to his feet withheld his palms out in defence. "Now, Rosaline ... let's try and remain calm."

Rosaline whipped out her wand and Amen scrambled for his wand in the same moment. "Bombarda," Rosaline said, just as Amen pressed the tip of his wand to his head turning into his hawk form and flew up and out of the way of the explosion that hit one of the walls of books with a loud booming crack. The shattered remains and gust of wind cause a shower of burning book pages to fall upon the three of them and illuminating the room. Jude clutched the chair as her ears rang, while the smell of embers filled her nose.

"Bombarda," Rosaline yelled again, aiming upward. She missed Amen by inches to kill him, but the force of the explosion knocked him against the wall and on to one of the higher ledges. She then lowered her wand towards Jude.

"Who are you?"

"Not with him."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey there**

 **Any guesses as to what sparked that combustive reaction?**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter be sure to review and let me know.**

 **I also want to thank Flaming Fate Zero and Exotence for their contributions with Amen and Rosaline.**


	3. Show and Tell

Rosaline narrowed her eyes at Jude, but they flicked towards the unseen Amen on one of the ledges.

"Throw me your wand but only touch it with the tips of your index fingers."

"Sure, thing wacko."

"Not a wise thing to call someone with a wand aimed at you."

"I'm not known for being wise," Jude said as she grabbed her wand out of her pocket per Rosaline's instructions. A demand that showed Jude that this woman had experience in similar situations but gauging her erratic eye movements like a fly was in front of her face; she had no experience in combat and was impulsive which wasn't a good thing. Jude stared at her with the wand pressed between her index fingers like a dark cord connecting them before lifting her eyes to Rosaline; who looked at her like Jude were mad. A logical thought; how could someone be that calm with fire falling around her and with a dangerous woman pointing her wand at her?

"Throw it," Rosaline ordered.

Jude hesitated a moment before throwing it over the lounge which bounced and rolled to Rosaline's feet. Rosaline's gaze was now split between the ledge, Jude and the wand. One quick second is all it would take for her to pick it up. She pointed her wand up at the ridge as well as her gaze before she bent over to grab the wand. In that split second, Jude snatched a page from the air and charged forward; jumping up and off the lounge. Rosaline's eyes widened as she started to snap her wand towards Jude; who scrunched the page, coldness erupted from her hand, turning it into a snowball, which she splattered against Rosaline's face; distracting her. The two collided to the ground, the cold white snow clouded Rosaline's vision allowing Jude to grab both of their wands.

"Incarcerous," Jude yelled. Thin strips of air around Rosaline became visible; hovering around her for a moment before solidifying into a rope that snapped against Rosaline's body binding her arms and legs to her body. If this woman was only concerned with Amen when she entered the room, it seemed she'd be leaving with a grudge for the both, as she thrashed against the rope trying to escape. To Jude, she looked like a mermaid out of the water and not like the cartoon ones but the ones that lived outside of Hogwarts. Ugly with bared teeth and bulged eyes.

"Merde," she yelled.

Jude raised her wand at Rosaline. "I understand your frustration, but there's no need to swear. Silenco."

Rosaline's angry noise was cut short like a blade through a ribbon. She stopped thrashing and appeared to be miming words, but not a sound came out. Jude walked over her to the floor door, eager not to guess the profanities she was probably saying, and kicked it shut; relighting the torches. The sudden light appeared to wake Amen as a scratch of metal, and the flapping of feathers drew Jude's eye up to the ledge where Amen jolted up from squawking in his bird form. His head danced at the scene before him before he dived down into his normal form.

"How did you -"

Jude twitched her wand at Amen; a blue sharp spark pulse from her wand causing Amen's wand to fly up into her hand. He looked at her stupefied as tucked his wand into her jacket pocket. "Go sit down," she ordered as she levitated Rosaline on to the lounge closest to the door.

"She attacked me," Amen said.

"You know her by name, and you've already admitted to being a criminal. You'll get it back when there are more people around. Now sit your arse down before I turn your scarf into a snake."

Amen touched his kafiya tentatively; his eyes betrayed a momentary fear before he walked over ever so slowly back to the lounge he was sitting on before. Jude walked over and brushed burnt and broken pages off her seat before sitting down. Rosaline continued to wiggle on the lounge opposite Amen as the raining of pages began to die down, though the smell of burnt paper lived on.

"Thanks," Amen said.

Jude looked at him briefly before nodding her head in acknowledgement. The door snapped open cutting the room into darkness illuminated for a moment by the still embers of the pages before the door was shut again with a satisfied laugh. The owner of the laugh, revealed in the light, was clad in coal black leather that paled in comparison to the midnight oil of his hair. Leather outlined his taut shape from his is boots with endless straps to the hood lying slump on his broad shoulders. He was an older man but had a youthful zeal due to his olive complexion stumble sketched half smile, which itself seemed to falter for a moment at the sight of the room and the three of them.

"Well I hope I haven't missed all the fun," he said showing a Greek accent. He spun the golden crown around his fingers as he sized up the room.

Amen appeared to perk up at the appearance of a more friendly company. "Don't fret perhaps an old lover or a man I wrong at a gamblers den will pop up next, though I'm sure the Jolly Jude will come to my aid again," Amen said then he stood up offering his hand to the man. "I'm Amen Sahib."

"Mateo Petropoulos."

"Petropoulos?" Amen paused, his gaze on Mateo never faltering. Jude had no doubt he was listening with his inner ear again. The man wasn't too subtle with his already wide eyes but in an instant went bug-eyed. "Obelius Petropoulos?"

"Yes?"

"I've heard of you. I've travelled the gambling circuit in Europe, and yours came up quite a lot in the south. Like to gamble?"

"I enjoy risk."

"Explains the outfit," Jude quipped.

Instead of an annoyed or insulted glance, Mateo pursed his lips in amusement before turning completely towards Jude. He tucked his hands and the crown behind his back which caused the leather to rumple with sound. "Jude, I assume?"

Jude leaned back in her chair, resting her elbows on the arms of the chair as she crossed her legs. Her face was expressionless, but there was an air of humour to it. "Assassin's Creed I assume or least a homage."

"Pardon?"

"You don't dabble in the muggle world, do you?"

"Sorry to say I haven't."

Jude shrugged her shoulders before turning her attention inward. She had grown up with a magical mother and a not to be seen muggle father, so her experience with the muggle world had been at a minimum until a year ago. Living a muggle life was much cheaper than a magical one since Jude couldn't get a job due to her circumstances. She could also get in less trouble with the French Ministry for fooling muggles with transfigured money; a button could become a coin and a tissue a paper note. Mateo and Amen continued their conversation on the couch sensing Jude's lack of interest which was fine with her. The two of them seemed to be cut from the same cloth and if it kept Amen away from her, all the better. Rosaline had stopped struggling, but she did make the occasional muffled yell and burn a hole into Jude's face was her gaze, though Jude never looked at her. She just watched the flames even when the door snapped open, and the torches went out, it was only when the door shut again that she looked up. At first, Jude thought she was looking at a Vampire she was so pale and lean. Jude couldn't tell how old she was until she got closer but whoever she was in her late thirties. The only thing about her that wasn't monotone was the jar of burning coal in her hands, which she clutched to her chest. The rest of her except her skin was black including the woollen cardigan wrapped around her.

She looked around at everyone with a deadpan expression, though, her eye had a soften awareness to them though she did freeze when Rosaline started to make noise at the sight of her. No doubt desperate for help. She looked at Rosaline with confusion and surprise, a normal reaction to have since Rosaline looked like a wrapped up like a roll of parchment.

"Why is she -"

"Rosaline is in time out." Jude explained, but she did not elaborate. Amen jumped up seizing the opportunity and held out his hand to Roisin with a flirtatious grin.

"From the mess, you can already guess things got combustive. I'm Amen and what may I call you?"

She looked over at Rosaline who stared at her with desperation, but Roisin looked back at Amen, words caught in her throat with uncertainty. She just shook his hand. "I'm Roisin."

"Oh, and Irish as well. I've not met an Irish witch before," Amen said appearing to be absolutely tickled by the idea. Jude, though, could see there was a flirtatious air to his sentence.

Mateo stood up and offered his hand as well. His height caused him to bow his head down which caused his charcoal eyes to deliver an underlook that Jude had no doubt had caused many knees to quiver. But in the case of Roisin, she looked quite flustered, especially when he bent down and kissed her hand. "I'm Mateo."

From the side glance Amen gave him, it appeared their friendship would spur into a rivalry. If only Mateo were the mind reader, then he'd know not to be as friendly with Amen. Mateo bent up not taking his hand away from Roisin's until she pulled it away. "I see you picked the Sacred Flame of Olympia. I was tempted myself, but we witnessed the mother flame at school at the time."

Jude perked up at the news. She had considered any of the items to be known relics, perhaps Jude's gamble would pay off.

"Oh, I didn't know that where this came from. I wonder how Yves got some."

"Yes, I asked the man myself when I realised what it was, but he would not budge. I would have picked it, but then I saw this," he said as he held up the crown which had a sacred glow to it from the firelight in the room. "The Crown of Demarcates, the Spanish Pope of the Vampires. Ruler of the golden age of Vampires before their subjugation."

"I didn't even know Vampires had such power."

"Nor did I until I came upon the fact in a history book in school. I must admit I find history fascinating."

Jude had no doubts that he did. The more he spoke, the more she could see he was either a treasure hunter or a thief. What did these two women do?

"What brings you here, Roisin?" Jude asked. "I don't mean your price for being here. I mean what skills. I only ask as you don't strike me as being ..."

"Criminal? Intimidating?" Roisin suggested with a humourless smile, understanding quite clearly what Jude was asking. "I just make potions. I work at a family apothecary."

Jude leaned back into her chair with a sigh while resting her fingers against her temples. That meant that two out of possibly five weren't actively on the other side of the law. There are, however, plenty of potioneer not on the up and up. What made Roisin, Yves top choice for the role?

"What do you do?"

"I'm a street performer."

Mateo and Amen began to laugh assuming it was a joke, but their humorous expression died down like candle wax. "You're not joking?"

"Nope. My act consists of card tricks."

"That's all. Nothing else you've done?"

"No," Jude lied.

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 **A/N: Hey everyone.**

 **Be sure to leave a review as your opinions.**

 **I'd like to thank Wulfekin and arans for their contributions to Mateo and Roisin. If you don't already favourite and follow be sure to in order to keep track of the story.**

 **See you next week.**


	4. No Introductions

**A/N: This chapter is on the shorter side because I wanted to put something out to you all now because I'm going to be away from WIFI for over a week.**

The door flicked open once more cutting the lights and the conversations short. A young Asian woman trotted up the stairs with the worst deadpan expression Jude had ever seen in her life. The woman looked like she had never had a happy thought in her life. The idea made Jude snap her head away from her, she had heard of a woman matching her description when Jude worked at the Ministry of Magic. Jude was lucky enough to have foreigners so far, but this woman was from the U.K and worked at the Ministry as well. Her only hope was that this woman's look of dissatisfaction meant she didn't read newspapers or listen to the office gossip. She kept her gaze on the fire, but her focus was on this woman. The others were a bit reluctant to greet her, but Mateo got up to welcome her, and Jude found herself gauging Amen's expression like he were a canary singing for danger. His bulbous eyes seemed perturbed by this woman as if she was ice in his shoes. Roisin just didn't seem bothered.

"Hello my name is Mateo," he said offering his hand. "What may I call you?"

She looked down at his hand then over at everyone else seeming to not knowing anyone before her gaze settled on Rosaline who again was pleading with muffle grunts for help.

"Ana," she said ignoring his hand and walking past Mateo to the relieved Rosaline. Ana helped Rosaline into a sitting position on the end of the lounge but instead of unbinding her, Ana instead just sat down on the opposite end acting like she'd just moved a pile of pillows out of the way. Mateo stood there like she had shape-shifted into a werewolf, he looked down at her, but she didn't look back, so he sat back down on the lounge. The room was quiet except for the crackling of the fire which sounded like thunder in the void of silence in this room. Amen was quiet in fixation of Ana; Mateo seemed like his confidence had been shattered, Roisin seemed comfortable in the silence looking at the fire like Jude, and even Rosaline had become placid. Jude's eyelids began to grow heavy like they were made of granite, where the fluttering of her eyes became slow like the drip of a tap. Jude didn't even realise she had fallen asleep until the smell of Billywig and Wolfsbane fluttered in her nostrils, and the taste of it invaded her mouth. Her eyes opened with a sharper and clearer vision as her heart thumped like a hummingbird. Yves stood over her with the vial in his hand and a very tall brunette man next to him. This man was not tall in the way Mateo had been tall, this man could quickly look at the top of his head. He was too short to be a giant or even a half-giant, but Jude wouldn't be surprised if he some of that lineage in him.

"Who are you?"

"Mathias," he answered, revealing a German accent an a voice that was deep and rich like the maple of a tree.

Jude looked around to see everyone waking up from the grog of sleep. Jude couldn't decide whether she wanted to curse herself or Ana; Jude had been so focused on whether Ana had heard about Jude to remember what she had heard about Ana.

"I must apologise, Madame Mercury, I had not -"

"Why the hell did you bring someone like her here?" Jude asked with a bellowing tone.

"Like her?" Mateo asked.

"She is an energy vampire. I had honestly thought it was a joke or an exaggeration when I'd very heard about it, but she and her family literally steal energy off of people."

Rosaline blinked with shock before she stood up and hopped away from Ana, who didn't seem to care. "It's a curse."

"Ooh a curse," Jude said before she stood up heading for the door. "I'm out of here. I'm not going to risk her knocking me out in the middle of a job."

"I don't do it on purpose. I travelled a long way, and that's draining, and my body reacted."

"If I thought you'd done it on purpose. I'd have lit that little cotton jacket you're wearing on fire," She said as she grabbed the handle of the door. "And by the way from London to Paris is not that far."

"It is when you have to take the long way because of this," Ana said her voice flat as she pulled out a parchment of paper. "A transcription of a prophecy we are all in."

Jude let go of the handle and walked over to grab it, but Yves with a whip of his wand beat her to it. "This is only for the ear of people who are fully committed to the job."

Jude kicked the lounge in frustration. She'd been jerked around by this man far too much, and she didn't know or trust any of these people. "Job, job, job. You keep saying that there's a job and you are throwing around all of this money and obvious success that you have, but you still haven't said what this job which tells me it is something difficult and dangerous."

Yves appeared to sigh in defeat. "You are all going to be stealing three things as determined by this prophecy, as to what and where we'll just have to interpret ourselves, which is one of the reasons I contacted you."

"How can I or any of us be sure of the authenticity of this transcription. Could be utter poppycock. If little miss soul sucker was a part of this prophecy, then she could have taken it or have grounds to apply for an orb copy."

"Not when its from the Black section of the Hall of Prophecy."

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 **A/N: Be sure to leave a review. They are what keeps the story going.**

 **Thanks to cityscapetowers and chiaki ebooks for their contributions to Ana and Mathias.**


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